Chateau Les Cruzelles in Lalande de Pomerol is owned by Denis Durantou. Denis Durantou who purchased Chateau Les Cruzelles in 2000, is better known for owning one of the top estates in Pomerol, Chateau LEglise Clinet.

Located in the commune of Neac, not far from his Pomerol estate, the terroir of Chateau Les Cruzelles shares many similarities in terroir with his Pomerol chateau, due to its rich, clay and gravel soil.

However, the soils for Les Cruzelles have more gravel with less clay than you will encounter at Chateau L’Eglise Clinet. More importantly, the terroir of Les Cruzelles was exactly what Denis Durantou was hoping to find in this region as this allowed Denis Durantou to expand his massal selection program.

The Lalande de Pomerol vineyards are only about 1 kilometer from Chateau L’Eglise Clinet. In fact, you can actually see the vineyard of Les Cruzelles from Chateau L’Eglise Clinet, if Denis shows you where to look.

The 10 hectare vineyard of Chateau Les Cruzelles is planted to 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. This could be the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc in the appellation of Lalande de Pomerol.

The terroir has clay and gravel soil. The majority of the blend for the wine of Chateau Les Cruzelles is usually taken up by Merlot.

Recent vintages have seen as much as 80% to 90% of blend come from Merlot, with the Cabernet Franc ranging from 10% to 20%. For the vinification of Chateau Les Cruzelles, the wine is fermented in tank. The wine is then aged in 50%, new, French oak barrels before bottling.

There is a second wine, Chateau La Chenade. The grapes for La Chenade comes from a combination of the estate’s young vines and the vines planted in the terroir with more sand and gravel, as well as from purchased fruit.

La Chenade also includes more Cabernet Franc in the blend to give it more structure. La Chenade is aged in an average of 25% new, French oak barrels. On average, the production of Chateau Les Cruzelles is close to 1,200 cases of wine per vintage.

When to Drink Chateau Les Cruzelles, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau La Chenade is better with at least 2-4 years of aging in good vintages. Young vintages can be decanted for about 1 hour if desired.

Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau La Chenade offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 3-15 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Les Cruzelles with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Les Cruzelles is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Château les Cruzelles Wine Tasting Notes

17 Vintages 46,458 ViewsSort by Vintage-Rating

2017

Château les Cruzelles (Lalande de Pomerol)

90

Soft, silky, juicy plums create a forward styled Romeo with earthy, dark red fruits and back notes of licorice. To be enjoyed on release, the wine was made from blending 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc.

1,151 Views Tasted Apr 26, 2018

Using 90% Merlot with 10% Cabernet Franc, this wine shows a rich, ruby color. On the nose, dreamy chocolate-covered black raspberries followed by dark juicy plums and just the right amount of cocoa and floral accents in the endnote.

1,688 Views Tasted Apr 29, 2017

Using 80% Merlot and more Cabernet Franc than usual at 20%, this wine has licorice, flowers, cocoa and black cherry notes in the nose. Soft in texture, there is a plush, roundness in the tannins, sweetness in the black fruits and a near prurient essence in the fixture that insures this vintage will deliver a lot of pleasure. 90-92 Pts

1,702 Views Tasted May 15, 2015

Aged in 50% new French oak, the wine is blended from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Fresh black cherry, cocoa, earth and coffee notes work well with the center of cherry and black raspberries. 87-89 Pts

2,524 Views Tasted Apr 19, 2012

Les Cruzelles From a blend of 90% Merlot 10% Cabernet Franc, Denis Durantou produced a wine from Lalande de Pomerol that could compete with several much more expensive Pomerol wines. Jammy berries, licorice, plums and chocolate covered raspberries open to a soft textured, charming, elegant, plummy wine that should drink well early. 89-91 Pts

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